This invention generally relates to a non-directional buffing wheel which is designed to be rotated in either direction for either cut buffing or color buffing a workpiece. Also, the invention relates to a method of using such a buff to both cut buff and color buff workpieces.
Buffs particularly designed for both cut buffing and color buffing the external surfaces of workpieces such as vehicle wheels and the like have been employed for some time. Of the different types of buffs previously available, finger buffs have been found to be most useful for buffing such wheels. Heretofore, the individual fingers were typically made by folding one or more layers of a lengthy strip of cloth repeatedly along its longitudinal length until the number of plies and width of the desired fingers were obtained. The folding resulted in a strip which was closed along one side edge thereof and open along the other side edge. The folded strip was then sewed in a number of parallel rows along its length to maintain the folds, cut into segments, and folded in half across their widths to provide pairs of side-by-side fingers slightly longer than the desired final finger length in the buffs. A plurality of such segments were then secured in a steel hub such as a cinch ring adapted to be driven for rotation. In the past, the closed side edge of each finger was laid in the same direction around the buff and the open side edge laid in the opposite direction thus making a directional buff that could only be run with the closed side edge of each finger pointing in the direction of rotation of the buff.